Hostages in the Simba Rebellion
The Simba Rebellion was a 1964 Wikipedia:rebellion in the former Republic of Congo (the modern Wikipedia:Democratic Republic of Congo) which began as a result of alleged abuses by the Congolese central government. It formed part of the turbulent history of the country in the first half of the 1960s. The rebels were led by Wikipedia:Pierre Mulele, Gaston Soumialot and Wikipedia:Christophe Gbenye who were former members of Gizenga's Wikipedia:Parti Solidaire Africain (PSA). The leaders of the rebels were politically Wikipedia:leftists. Most of their fighters however were tribesmen from the provinces of Wikipedia:Kivu and Orientale. Many of them came from traditional African cultures with Wikipedia:animist beliefs. The name "Simba" comes from the fact that the tribal fighters were told by Wikipedia:shamans that they would be immune to bullets, and would be transformed into "Simbas" (the Swahili word for Wikipedia:lions) when they were in battle. The rebels started taking hostages of the local white population in areas under their control. Several hundred hostages were taken to Stanleyville and placed under guard in the Victoria Hotel. A group of Belgian and Italian Sisters were taken hostage by rebellion leader Gaston Soumaliot. The Sisters were forced into hard labor and numerous atrocities were reported by news agencies all over the world. Wikipedia:Uvira, near the border with Wikipedia:Burundi was a supply route for the rebellions. Sisters being taken hostage was a dramatic turn for the Congo and was widely covered by newspapers all over the world and that was strongly condemned by the Wikipedia:United Nations. ]] On October 7, 1964 the Religious Sisters were liberated. From Wikipedia:Uvira they escaped on the road to Wikipedia:Bukavu from where they returned to Belgium by airplane. Sister Ernestine Declercq Sister Ernestine (November 9, 1915, Wikipedia:Wielsbeke, Belgium – January 22, 2011, Wikipedia:Anzegem, Wikipedia:Belgium), born Esther Declercq, was a Catholic Sister of the order of Wikipedia:Saint Vincent de Paul (Dutch : Heilige Vincentius à Paulo) at Wikipedia:Anzegem in Belgium. Early life and relatives in Wikipedia:Belgian Congo in 1958]] Sister Ernestine was a daughter of Marie Elodie Devenyn and of Ernest Constant Declercq, a farmer and flax merchant at Wikipedia:Wielsbeke in Belgium descending from the known families of Declercq and Vercruysse from Wikipedia:Deerlijk in Belgium and from Van den Broucke, a leading family in the flax industry at Wikipedia:Wielsbeke. Among her grand-nephews and grand-nieces are for instance soprano and music writer Wikipedia:Françoise Vanhecke, singer Carmelina Sorvillo, physicist Nico Felicien Declercq. Her brothers were Joseph Declercq, a farmer, and Michel Achiel Renatus Declercq, a flax merchant, whereas her sisters were Maria Declercq, a Wikipedia:midwife and head of a Wikipedia:maternity, Valentine Declercq, Rachel Declercq, a school teacher at Olsene and Wikipedia:Judith Declercq, the provincial president of the Belgian National Child Welfare organisation and a lecturer and co-founder in 1937 at the Nurse Training Institute 'Maria Middelares' that would later become 'Hoger Instituut voor Verpleegkunde', associated with the Wikipedia:Katholieke Universiteit Leuven Kulak in Belgium. Sister Ernestine went to boarding school at Wikipedia:Anzegem. Career, jail ministry and mission She has been a teacher at Anzegem’s primary school and secondary school on general subjects and particularly French and Music. From 1943 until 1958 she has been a school Director at Ingooigem in Belgium. Simultaneously she has worked at the Women’s jail (Dutch: “kleine Refuge” and “grote Refuge”) of Sint Andries near Wikipedia:Bruges. On November 18, 1958, when she was 43 years old, she became a Wikipedia:Missionary at Wikipedia:Uvira in Congo where she taught French classes. After having been taken hostage at Wikipedia:Uvira, she returned to Belgium where she became the school Director at Mannekensvere while she continued her Jail Ministry. At the end of her career she lived at the monastery of Wikipedia:Anzegem, then at Wikipedia:Vichte before she spent her final years at a home for elderly persons “Woon- en Zorgcentrum Ter Berk” at Wikipedia:Anzegem. Because of her educational role and because of her captivity in Congo, Sister Ernestine has been well-known. Sister Ernestine’s intelligence and empathy have always been very much appreciated by everyone and enabled her to play a crucial role in negotiating with the rebels at Wikipedia:Uvira during her captivity in Congo.Eulogy at funeral of Sister Ernestine, 2011 Hostage at Uvira in Congo In 1964 the East of the Wikipedia:Republic of Congo was afflicted by the Wikipedia:Simba Rebellion. A group of Belgian and Italian Sisters were taken hostage by rebellion leader Gaston Soumaliot. The Sisters have been forced to hard labor and numerous atrocities were reported by news agencies all over the world. Wikipedia:Uvira, near the border with Wikipedia:Burundi was a supply route for the rebellions. Sisters being taken hostage was a dramatic turn for the new Wikipedia:Republic of Congo that has been widely covered by newspapers all over the world and that was strongly condemned by the Wikipedia:United Nations. Embarrassment on the one hand and modesty on the other hand have probably been the reasons why the hostage taken Sisters have remained silent about the events for many decades. Sister Ernestine has been among the imprisoned Sisters together with for instance Sister Begga Afra Theys from the same convent and born in Rollegem. It is said that Sister Ernestine has saved lives because of her personal diplomacy skills and knowledge of the local language. On October 7, 1964 the Religious Sisters have been liberated. From Wikipedia:Uvira they have escaped on the road to Wikipedia:Bukavu from where they returned to Belgium by airplane. Ancestry , May 3, 1901. Despite common practice by the registrars at Wielsbeke to split the name in two words as De Clercq, clearly Ernestine’s father honored a tradition to write Declercq in one word. ]] The Belgian archives reveal the following ancestors of Ernest Constant Declercq born 1872 in Wielsbeke: *Ivo Declercq (married Mathilde Van den Broucke born 1869 in Wielsbeke), *Leo Bernard Declercq (married Therese Loncke born 1840 in Wielsbeke), *Pierre Joseph Declercq (married Barbara Therese D’Hont in Kuurne), *Renier Declercq (married Marie Anne Lombaerde born 1770 in Kuurne), *Jean Declercq (born 1706 in Deerlijk married Marie Monteyne born 1734 in Kuurne), *Pierre Declercq (born 1673 in Deerlijk, married Marie Prienne born, Harelbeke 1703) *Antoine Declercq (married Martine Vercruysse born 1656 in Deerlijk) Gallery File:Marie Elodie Devenyn.jpg|Sister Ernestine's mother Marie Elodie Devenyn, born 1876 in Wielsbeke 1876, wife of Ernest Constant Declercq and daughter of Leo Devenyn and Ursula Vereecke. File:Ernest Constant Declercq.jpg|Sister Ernestine's father Ernest Constant Declercq, born 1872 in Wielsbeke, husband of Marie Elodie Devenyn and son of Ivo Declercq and Mathilde Van den Broucke. References External links * Home for the Elderly "Ter Berk te Anzegem" * Sisters of the Holy Vincent à Paulo * Jail of Sint Andries Bruges Ernestine Declercq Ernestine Declercq Ernestine Declercq Wikipedia:Category:1915 births Wikipedia:Category:2011 deaths Ernestine Declercq Ernestine Declercq Ernestine Declercq Category:1915 births Category:2011 deaths